When the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) was activated in 1989, no one at the command realized that it would be combat tested just weeks later when a third of its force would be called up to participate in Operation Just Cause in Panama.
First activated on December 1, 1989, USASOC would, "organize, train, equip, and validate Army Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) for worldwide employment, a mission that remains fundamentally the same 35 years later," according to the USASOC history office.
After experiencing a post-Vietnam War slump, Special Operations began to grow in the 1980s due to the increase of unconventional threats such as insurgencies and terrorism. In order to consolidate Army Special Operations units, 1st Special Operations Command was created in 1982 as a provisional command. However, those assigned there quickly realized that the command was inadequate because it did not encompass all Army SOF elements.
USASOC would for the first time bring together all of these Army Special Operations units to include Special Forces, the Ranger Regiment, Civil Affairs, Psychological Operations, and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Just days after its activation, Special Forces, Rangers, PSYOP soldiers, and others participated in the invasion of Panama. A year later, they were deployed for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf.
“This command epitomizes to me the versatility that is so essential to our Army of today and to our role as a strategic force vital to our nation as we move into the next century. And this major command will be instrumental in ensuring that the Army’s special operations forces, both in the active and the reserves, will continue to be trained to a razor’s edge, and fully prepared for any mission," explained Gen. Carl E. Vuono at the command's activation ceremony.
USASOC remained gainfully employed through the 1990s, deploying all around the world, before responding in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks by deploying to fight the Global War on Terror. Today, USASOC's mission is fundamentally the same as it was 35 years ago, to provide the best special operators to combatant commanders around the world.
The Command is, “the perfect force to lead the Army’s strategic options in these turbulent times," said Gen. Gary Luck 35 years ago.